Newcastle United Begin To Make Excuses Already

Why do managers always complain about opponents resting players on the last game of the season? Alan Shearer became the latest to ignore 37 games in a season when he admitted he was worried that Manchester United and Chelsea will rest players for the last round of Premiership matches. Yes they’re playing Hull City and Sunderland, Newcastle’s relegation rivals, but the Geordies aren’t 3rd bottom out of bad luck.

They’ve been dreadful all season, in fact it’s a miracle they’ve managed to take it to the final game. Forget Middlesbrough and Southgate’s insipid “it’s not impossible” comments over the weekend. Boro are down and Southgate has to hold his hands up and take the blame, completely out of his depth, Saturday’s crowd of 27,621 said it all about how the Boro fans felt towards him. There is one place left in the relegation battle and it’s going to come down to one of 3 teams, Hull City, Newcastle United and Sunderland.

Surely Shearer must realise how foolish he sounds, clutching at straws after Newcastle’s worst season since 1988-1989, which also saw them relegated out of the top flight. Manchester United could play 11 clowns against Hull City and lose, but it won’t cover up the fact that Newcastle have been dreadful all season. By saying he’s worried about who United pick on Sunday, it just sounds a little bit silly. They’ve a Champions League final 3 days later, they’ve won the Premiership again, so why not let a few squad players have a run out. It’s not like they’re going to play 11 players who will be making their debuts in the Premiership is it.

The conspiracy theorists are already unpicking the relationship between Sir Alex Ferguson and Phil Brown, looking at the fact they actually are good friends and Ferguson helped Brown get the managers job at Derby County. That Shearer turned Ferguson down twice as a player, that another of Fergie’s mates, Sam Allardyce, also Phil Browns mentor, was crudely booted out by Newcastle United. Add in to that the derision that Manchester United fans have towards Newcastle and Shearer’s media friends are having a field day.

All this seems to miss out the fact that Newcastle will still have to get something out of Sunday’s game, have won 2 games in 19 and only taken 12 points this year. After beating Middlesbrough last week, they returned to form by losing to Fulham, who are 7th. Some fans were disgusted they could have lost to Fulham, but I suggest they look at the league table.You’ve won two home games in 6 months Newcastle, so how they thought they’ve beat high flying Fulham is beyond me. Yet they travel to Aston Villa, a side managed by one of Alan’s buddies, who are dreadful form themselves. Will Shearer be complaining if Villa field a weakened side? Of course he won’t but his supporters in the media will overlook that fact.

By beginning to make excuses already, Shearer is perhaps readying the fans for Sunday and the underlying fact that relegation is 90 minutes away. A win on the road is something Newcastle can just about remember, but they’ve only done it twice this season, at Portsmouth and at West Bromwich. Forget the conspiracy theories, this is a side who have only beaten the two teams below them this year.

A side that goes into Sunday’s game with 3 defenders, a club with only one left back who’s injured, with no players who’s contracts includes terms for wage reductions if they’re relegated, a side with a midfielder so dislikable even his reflection looks away.With no real sell-able playing assets, no bright youth system and the transfer kitty looking empty already, relegation could destroy Newcastle United.

The fact of the matter is, it doesn’t matter who plays in the last game of the season, it’s how you’ve done over 38 games, not the last one. Newcastle may yet stay up, but if they don’t, it’s because they’ve not been good enough over the whole season and not Sundays final 90 minutes.

Of course you will have managers talking about the other teams that can decide wether they stay in the EPL or not and of course it has been 37 games before but that really doesnt matter right know does it.

I kept waiting for this article to be anything more than pointless but have been disappointed. Also if Shearer did say those things who can blame him, when desperate you have to try anything at all. I guess that’s a crime now.

Haha, fair point Dave but it’s something that annoys me every season. Neil Warnock and Bryan Robson have both tried playing the same card on the final day when both had actually fielded weakened sides earlier in the season. Of course Robson, after his deluded flu cancellation when he was manager of Middlesbrough, should have known better.
There’s nothing wrong with hoping, but blaming Manchester United before a ball has been kicked smacks of sour grapes. If anything, it may encourage Ferguson to field an even weaker side than he perhaps fancied.
On the evidence, it’ll be Sunderland will be desperate for Chelsea to field a weaker side going on their performance at the moment.

Got this one too:
“I’d rather United didn’t have the Champions League final three days after playing at Hull,” said Shearer. “I’d also rather Chelsea didn’t have the FA Cup final six days after playing at Sunderland. But I’m not going to tell Sir Alex what to do – no way could I ever do that. I think when this particular situation has happened in the past he’s always been genuine and looked around the league and done what was right for everyone else and for his club.”

Sunderland were beaten tonight from pompy 3-1 which give Newcastle United a little more hope of survival.

The way thing currently stand in the table if Newcastle were to win at Villa on Sunday and Hull were to win at Man United and sunderland lost at Chelsea, bye bye Sunderland, so if Newcastle win there game they be praying Hull win theres so the mackems are down lol

I hope they stay up as the potential new owners will no longer be interested in buying from ashley.

The thing is Paul you are correct, the management at NUFC only have themselves to blame and had Hull not taken 4 points off us this season we wouldn’t be in this predicament….

But for you to jump on the Newcastle bashing bandwagon at a time when the football club looks more than likely to be relegated is a bit sad. A draw would be realistically what we could muster at Villa and of course our manager and supporters are going to be hoping the useless Hull get beat by Man U (who are after all the Champions of Europe) and Furguson doesn’t field a rediculously weakened team. To me that would be unsporting of Ferguson but as an obvious member of the Newcastle bashing fraternaty you would probably disagree would you not?

““I’d rather United didn’t have the Champions League final three days after playing at Hull,” said Shearer. “I’d also rather Chelsea didn’t have the FA Cup final six days after playing at Sunderland. But I’m not going to tell Sir Alex what to do – no way could I ever do that. I think when this particular situation has happened in the past he’s always been genuine and looked around the league and done what was right for everyone else and for his club.”

so, admitting a fear and supporting it with facts is now considered “making an excuse?”

eeeeyah big stretch on that one. Even by your standards, its pretty tough to call that an “Excuse”. I think I’m missing something here… Maybe a better term would be ” lowering the bar?” , or “reduces the spread”, or “lowers Expectation”. But makes an excuse, No sorry, don’t see it.

But using “Begin to make excuses” drives more hits to your blog than “lowers expectations” do they? By that I mean if Newcastle would do what 90% of other clubs support thinks they need to do (ie lower their expectations) who would you blog about?

sadly this is just another fictitious anti-toon rant, you really should be working for the daily mail.

at NO point does Shearer make an excuse in ANY of the interviews even what he has said is in RESPONSE to leading questions from the media.

But yet again another bandwagon jumper tries desperately to scratch something together to have a pop at Newcastle United.

I suppose on the plus side you get to vent your spleen at Newcastle United so you might just not go home and kick the cat.

Just try for once to try and write an article based on fact instead of trying to conjure something from nothing like a poor mans Paul Daniels.

Believe me if you even tried a little there are an abundance of actual problems at NUFC that you could bend your thoughts to – but then again facts aren’t something that anyone in the media couples with NUFC are they.

A bit feeble to conclude that Shearer is making excuses from those quotes.
He’s naturally concerned because Sunday will decide whether we stay up or go down.
We have been rubbish all season, but that is thanks to Mr Ashley deciding to undermine Keegan, stick to his management structure, sell good players and buy rubbish and to have four different managers in one season. The club has been run so badly that we face relegation.
Gloating journalists like yourself seem to feel that the club and supporters deserve this. Hence we have to read tenuous jibes like above.

“Alan Shearer became the latest to ignore 37 games in a season when he admitted he was worried that Manchester United and Chelsea will rest players for the last round of Premiership matches.”

The other 37 games are irrelevant now you idiot, it is down to the last game.

If Man U were playing their last game and Liverpool were also playing for the title and Hull put out a reserve team against Liverpool, would you say that it did’nt matter as there were 37 other games for Man U to get the points required?

Yes Newcastle have played badly over 37 games, really badly at times, and are third from bottom. Hull have also played badly over 37 games, and are fourth from bottom. Are they anymore entitled to be given a leg up by Man U. ?

I’m getting really tired of everyone having a go at Newcastle making excuses and being irritated by Man U fielding a weaker team – cos I haven’t seen anyone from Newcastle actually complaining about it!! Shearer has come out and said he’s happy Man Utd will put out a strong team, fans know the team deserve to be down there and can have no complaints, yes we’d rather it was a full strength Man U team but we’re rather more worried about trying to get anything from the Villa game. Yet I keep seeing this opinion pieces perpetuating their own stereotypes of Newcastle fans because that’s how they like to see us, cos it raises a laugh for them. Yes there’s plenty to poke fun at but you can’t just second guess our responses/behaviour and then ignore it when it’s not actually true. FFS!